For a Solid Life of Success, Avoid These 4 Temptations

I don’t have enough paper to write or tell you the thousand sad stories I know about all the educated, gifted and talented people who fell into the temptation to get rich quick, looked for something for nothing, ceased to persist and do, believed false promises, and took shortcuts.

A solid life of success is built climbing stairs, not mounting a rocket ship, and it’s sad to watch people chase false dreams—or their tails, the wind, rainbows.

Are you chasing rainbows? Make sure you stop running after these temptations:

1. The temptation to get rich quick

Everybody wants everything instantly—instant rice, instant pudding, instant success. My father always said, “Take time to be an apprentice and learn the whole job.” It works.

2. The temptation to take shortcuts

Taking shortcuts, cutting corners—it’s a character flaw. You will be building on sand, and it will surely collapse. It always has. And it always will.

3. The temptation to believe that “the grass is greener on the other side”

We need to stay focused on where we are now, what we are doing now—our present opportunity, our present job, our present activity. We need to be able to make our current responsibilities work.

4. The temptation to quit too soon

History books and storybooks are filled with illustrations and parables of people who quit digging “three feet from finding the gold.” Just one more try to complete an invention, just one more call to make a sale, just one more…

What happens if you fall into one of these temptations? You might lose sight of your goals, develop a lack of confidence and suffer from an eroding self-esteem.

But you can avoid all of that, if you just…

• Commit to a singleness of purpose.
• Set and put into writing specific and clearly defined goals.
• Outline exact action steps you must take to achieve your goals.
• Repeat daily affirmations to support your goals.
• Form a support group of your family, friends, co-workers.
• Create an accountability factor.

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